This is in response to the article that
appeared in the Daily News of 10th April 2003 by Mr. Ranjith C. Dissanayake.
Deputy President of the Eksath Sinhala Maha Sabhawa's suggestion that the
history and origin of the Sinhala race be traced.

From the annals of history we learn that
the port of Puhar along the Coromandel coast of Tamil Naadu, the port of
Tutucurin along the Southern coast of Tamil Naadu and the port of Mantai
(Mannar) along the North-Western coast of Lanka were internationally famous for
the flourishing trade they were carrying on during the pre-christian and early
Christian eras, with countries in the West viz.

Greece, Rome, Rgypt. Mesopotamia (Iraq)
and Arabian lands and with countries in the Eastern seas viz Siam, Burma,
Malaya, Java, China, Bali and Fiji. The Gulf of Mannar was in those early days
famous for pearl fisheries. The above ports were manned exclusively by Tamils.
They were mariners and navigators.

Tamil names of the commodities exported
and imported are seen in the vocabularies of the Greek and English languages
today. Coins of foreign countries have been found from time to time at
Kantharodai, the earliest capital of the kings of Jaffna, and in other parts of
Jaffna. Foreign coins may be seen at the National Museum in Jaffna.

The world-renowned Hindu Temple of the
13th century A.D. at Angkor Wat, in Cambodia, is today a destination for
Buddhist pilgrims. The sculptures of Hindu and Buddhist art at Borobudur in
Java, built by the Cholas in the 9th century A.D. during the rule of Java by the
Sailendra Dynasty, stands magnificently, reminding visitors of the mighty
Cholas. Although Indonesia has the highest Muslim population in the world, the
Garuda (vahana of Lord Vishnu) is the emblem on the National Flag of Indonesia.

One of the most remarkable objects
unearthed at Mannar was a model of a cart with its driver, which showed
unmistakable signs of Babylonian art. There are in Sumeria to this day, ruins of
Hindu kovils with the Ziggurats (kopurams), which confirm that Mesopotamia is
the cradle of the Dravidians (Hindus), as quoted by S.F. De Silva retired
Principal, Government Training College.

Jawaharlal Nehru ex-prime minister of
India, in his "My discovery of India", writes. "There is no
record anywhere, of Aryans having left the shores of India in search of
adventure viz, commercial, cultural and expansionists. There are however,
numerous records of the Cholas having braved the waves of the oceans and
established cultural and commercial intercourse with foreign countries, and left
their impressions in those countries.

That the Tamils were a maritime race is
further proved by the fact that it was a Tamil. Vavooji Sithamparanathar, who
had the courage to defy the British and own an ocean-going vessel. At time when
the British, as rulers thought that it was their prerogative to own ocean-going
vessels. Tamil-blood, promted Vavooji to own a ship, in defiance of his white
master's arrogance.

The Hindu and Buddhist ruins we see today
at Polonnaruwa are a legacy the Cholas who ruled Lanka from 1003 A.D. to 1075
A.D. have bequeathed to us. In no other part of Lanka do we see such extensive
ruins, as we see at Polonnaruwa, Sri Lanka is heavily indebted to the Cholas for
their gift.

The eminent Sinhala civilian and
historian, the late Dr. Paul E. Peiris, following his excavations of a part of
the site of Kantharodai, the earliest capital of the kings of Jaffna, notes,
"It stands to reason that a country which is only about 20 miles from South
India, would have been seen by Indian fishermen every morning as they sailed out
to catch fish.

I believe North Ceylon was a flourishing
settlement long before Vijaya was born". In similar vein, are his remarks
on the ancestral Hindu kovils of Ceylon, "Long before the arrival of
Vijaya, there were in Lanka five recognized Iswerams of Siva, which claimed
adoration and veneration of all India.

These were Thirukketheseeweram near
Mantai (Mannar), Munneswram dominating Salawata (Chilaw), Thirukonesweram near
the great bay of Kottiyar (Trincomalee). Nakulesweram, in close proximity to the
Kankesanturai harbour and Chandresweram close to Hambantota harbour. The last
mentioned kovil is unfortunately no more. It has gone to ruins due to lack of
patronage and neglect. The situation of these temples close to ports, cannot be
the result of accident or caprice but was probably determined by the concourse
of a wealthy mercantile population whose religious wants called for
attention".

Apart from the above-mentioned kovils,
there are, in the deep South, a shrire for Lord Murukan at Kathirkamam and a
shrine for Lord Vishnu at Devi Nuwara from ancient days. Buddhists and Hindus
visit these kovils daily for worship.

There are kovils from ancient days in
Kandy, testifying to a high concentration of Hindus in the Central part of
Lanka. The temple for Nath (Siva), according to H.W. Codrington, is over 600
years old. The other temples, being for Murukan, Vishnu and Goddess Pattini,
Robert Knox was of the view that Maha Fsala Perahera in Kandy was celebrated
from ancient times exclusively in honour of the Hindu deities. The Tooth Relic
was taken in the Perahera for the first time during the reign of King Kirthi Sri
Raja Singha at the request of the Siamese Monk Upali, to give a Buddhist touch
to the festival. That practice was later stopped. These days only the empty
casket is mounted on the elephant.

It may not be incorrect to assume that in
the hoary past, Lanka was, from North to South, East to West and the Central
highlands the homeland of Tamils of the Hindu faith. With the arrival of Arahat
Mahinda, thousands of Tamils of the Hindu faith embraced Buddhism. Though 80
generations have rolled by, these converts have not given up their Tamil Hindu
culture and practices. They still indulge in prayers and rituals.

As even as late as the 6th century A.D.,
there was no Sinhala language, the Great Chronicles were written in the Pali
language. Monk Maha Nama hatched the Vijaya myth to dub the Buddhist converts as
Aryans, projecting them as descendants of Bengalis.

Maha Nama did not know that the Bengalis
were Mongoloid Dravidians. The average Sinhala man will decline to believe that
prince Siddhartha, as a Nepalese, was not an Aryan. No king of Lanka during the
200 years history of Lanka, claimed that he was of Aryan Dynasty.

How then can the populace claim that they
are Aryans? With the mixture of Tamil, Pali and Sanskrit languages, evolved that
Sinhala language during 8 A.D. It was not Pali or Sanskrit, but the Tamil
language that helped in the formation of the Sinhala alphabets. The alphabets of
the Sinhala language are round in shape like the alphabets of the other
Dravidian languages. Telugue, Malayalam, Kannadam and proto-Tamil. In the 10th
century. Tamils changed the shape of their alphabets to the square shape.

According to Dr. C.E. Godakmubara, the
Sinhala Grammar Sidathsangarawa was based on the Tamil Grammar Virasolium in the
11th A.D. The term 'Sihala (Lion in Pali) is seen for the first time in Sri
Lankan sources in the Dipa Vamsa (4-5 A.D.) and in that chronicle, that term
occurs only once, and in that cryptic verse it is stated that the Island was
known as 'Sinhala' on account of the Lion - "Lanka Dipo Ayam ahu sihena
sihalaitu". In the maha Vamsa the term 'Sihala' - occurs only twice. In the
epic Ramayana 420 B.C., this island was known as Lanka much earlier.

Rev. S. Gnanapiragasam - "There are
more than 4.000 Tamil words in the Sinhala vocabulary. If the Sinhala vocabulary
is stripped of all the Tamil words there will be no Sinhala language."

There were no Sinhalese in Lanka or in
any part of the world until the Dipa Vamsa for the first time, referred to the
descendants of Tamil (Hindus) who embraced Buddhism in 246 B.C. as Sihala on
account of the Lion (no relevance). There is no culture called Sinhala culture.
It is the Tamil culture that is projected as Sinhala culture. The 14th day of
April is observed as New Year, day only by the Tamils and Sinhala people
throughout the world.

This fact is strong evidence that the
Sinhala people inherited this practice from their Tamil ancestors who embraced
Buddhism in 246 B.C. It is stupid to deny that fact. When there was no Sinhala
language in Lanka or in any part of the world before 8th A.D., it is thuggery to
claim that there were Sinhala people in Lanka prior to the 8th century A.D. Just
as the descendants of Tamils who embraced Buddhism in 246 B.C. claim they are
Arya Sinhalese; Tamils of the Western Coast, from Ragama to Kalpitiya, after
adopting Sinhala as their mother tongue, (after the introduction of free
education) claim thy are Arya Sinhalese. In Sri Lanka any person who adopts
Sinhala as mother tongue ipso facto is an Aryan.

That is Sri Lankan logic, Yes, in Sri
Lanka a leopard can change its spots. Wilhelm Geiger - "not what is said,
what is left unsaid, is the besetting difference of Sinhala history".

SK Vadivale

Origin of
Sinhala race - A Response

Island Letters Sat Oct 4
2003 - V. Dharmapala Senaratne

I refer to the article by
Dr. S. K. Vadivale appearing in the press the other day under the caption
‘Origin of the Sinhala race’.

Although Dr. Vadivale
pretends to be a linguist while he is not, I do not make any such claims. It is
pitiable however that under such presences he presents fantasy as fact as to the
origin of the Sinhala race and its language.

I say so for the following
reasons, among others. In order to establish that ‘Mesopotamia is the cradle
of the Dravidians (Hindus)’ he quotes the authority of S. F. de Silva, retired
principal of Government Training College. What an authority indeed! It is on
such authority that he has based his thesis!

Dr. Vadivale wants us to
believe that ‘Sri Lanka is heavily indebted to the Cholas who ruled our Lanka
from 1003 AD to 1075 AD for their gift of Hindu and Buddhist ruins we see today
at Polonnaruwa’. This is again undoubtedly fantasy. The carnage that was
unleashed in Polonnaruwa by the Cholas is well documented and does not need
repetition or emphasis here for it known better to others than Dr. Vadivale. So,
it is correct to say that Cholas ruined that city.

Dr. Vadivale adds, ‘As
even as late as the 6th century AD, there was no Sinhala language’. According
to well established evidence, the Sinhala language has its origin in the
pre-Christian era and it is unfortunate that Dr. Vadivale is ignorant of this
fact. This assertion of his is absurd as the statement ‘It was the Tamil
language that helped in the formation of Sinhala alphabets’. He thus displays
himself to be an ignoramus as to Brahamin scripture and rock inscriptions in Sri
Lanka which clearly indicate a smooth evolution of the Sinhala alphabet into the
modern day letters.

His reference to Rev.
Gnanapragasam and Wilhelm Geiger to prove his point is a clear case of the devil
quoting scriptures. Gnanapragasam read a paper on "Dravidian element in
Sinhala" at a meeting of the Royal Asiatic Society held in 1934. It was
later published in the Society’s journal.

Geiger who has been a world
renowned linguist thereafter countered the thesis of Gnanapragasam who is
neither a linguist, historian, archaeologist nor an intellectual of any sort
according to Geiger himself. Geiger’s research paper titled ‘The linguistic
character of Sinhalese’ was published in the same journal in the year 1937.
Will Dr. Vadivale please read that?

Dr. Vadivale adds, ‘There
is no culture called Sinhala culture. It is Tamil culture that is projected as
Sinhala culture’. My foot! What an absurd statement.

Immediately thereafter, he
proceeds to declare that ‘April 14 is observed as New Year only by Tamil and
Sinhala people throughout the world’. This could possibly be the falsehood of
the century deserving a slot in the Guinness Book of Records.

The word ‘Sankranthi’
associated with the Sinhala New Year comes from Sanskrit. In Thailand
even today the same word is spoken as ‘Songkraan’ in their
terminology for the New Year it being a national event celebrated from the
beginning of the Buddhist era. I have witnessed it personally in that country
though it could well be news to ignorant Dr. Vadivale.

I refer to the several letters appearing
in your columns on the above subject. According to late Gamini Iriyagolla,
(Civil Servant, scholar, Lawyer, Patriot and one who was deeply involved in the
so-called "ethnic issue" and presented irrefutable historical facts
and startling arguments to explode, among others, the myth of the
"traditional Tamil homeland" concept), "There is a history but
not of the Tamils.... Even C. Rasanayagam, in his heavily Tamil-biased
"Ancient Jaffna" (1926), admits, "that Jaffna was occupied by the
Sinhalese earlier than by the Tamils is seen not only in the place names of
Jaffna but also is some of the habits and customs of the people..."

According to H.W. Codrington, in his book
"Ancient Land Tenure and Land Revenue in Ceylon" - 1938, "The
colonization of Jaffna by the Tamils cannot be of extreme antiquity".
"Such place names as exist, and they are not a few, are not
pre-medieval,..... records the presence of Sinhalese in the peninsula in the
15th century."

In the several letters and the subsequent
booklet he (Mr. Iriyagolla) had published on this issue, he says that the Tamils
who are mostly descendants of Malayalese, is a racial group composed of
different ethnic entities and speaking a common language, such as Tamils from
Coromandel coast, Paravars who came during the Portuguese and Dutch periods as
pearl divers, soldiers and fishermen, Kalingas from Orissa and Anthra Pradesh,
Mukkuwas from Malabar coast, Arabs and other Muslims from South India and
Portuguese who were given land grants and settled in Jaffna between 1619 and
1658. To this list must be added Tamils brought by the Dutch for tobacco
cultivation in Jaffna. Such a diverse group, though welded together by a common
religion and language, has no "historic" or "Traditional
homelands".

To get over this embarrassing impasse,
the crafty Tamil leaders struggling for top places in Sri Lanka had to invent a
spurious claim to convince their followers. Hence the blatant falsification of
historical facts, which, alack and alas, received State support when the
teaching of our glorious history was treacherously withdrawn.

If in deed the Tamils had a
"glorious past", as proclaimed by racist Tamils, they should be able
to produce proof at least of one single irrigation system they had built in or
outside Jaffna; not the ones their invading brethren had destroyed from time to
time.

And, if in fact Tamils were the original
inhabitants, how come they all chose to live in a barren, harsh and inhospitable
area, leaving the fertile land to "Sinhala Kallathonis"?

WIJEYA SIRIWARDENA, Kandy

Origin of the
Sinhala race - Wed Island Oct
29 2003

This has relevance to Mr. D.
Senaratne’s contribution in The Island of 04.10.2003.

No one needs to have specialist
qualification to arrive at rational and logical conclusions from the works of
research workers. There are many instances of doubt cast on the early
conclusions on archaeological and historical inscriptions found in Ceylon or Sri
Lanka.

Most of the controversial issues in
relation to the Tamil, Sinhala race and language can be solved if we understand
and accept that Sinhalese are as much Dravidians as the Tamils themselves.

Pioneer priests who introduced
Buddhism in Ceylon were Dravidians, who were born Hindus. That is why Asian
Buddhists adopted Hindu gods in their worship pattern.

What percentage of Sri Lankan
Buddhists appreciate the fact the sage Mahinda who introduced Buddhism in Ceylon
is a Dravidian and not a relation of King Asoka.

Sinhala scholar Mudliyar Gunawardena
at a lecture delivered at Ananda College on 28.09.1918 had stated "....the
science of exmination of the structure of a sentence is called its grammar. The
grammar of the Sinhala language is Dravidian..."

Prof. J. B. Dissanayake in his book
"Understanding the Sinhalese" at page 118 states "....Sinhala
occupies a unique position among the languages of South Asia because of its
close affinity, with two of the major linguistic families of the Indian sub
continent Indo-Aryan and Dravidian..." From this, one can conclude that
Sinhala in written form could have been made by one or many, who knew both
Dravidian and Aryan language. Thus early Dravidian Buddhist priests were
scholars in Tamil, Pali and Sanskrit, to make Sinhala in spoken and written form
possible.

Sinhala language is classified as a
modern Indo-Aryan language. All modern Indo-Aryan languages date after 10th
century A.D. Earliest Sinhala classics Amavatura and Buthsarana
date after 12th century A.D.

Sinhala scripts resemble those of
Malayalam and Tamil. There is a claim that a Malayali without prior knowledge in
Sinhala is able to read many words from a Sinhala daily. In Malayalam about 491
scripts are possible and Sinhala about 471. Two languages with largest number of
scripts? Vowels in Malayalam are called Isuwarangal and in Sinhala Isuvara.
In Malayalam and Sinhala consonants are called Viyanchana.

After 6th century A.D. all Buddhists
in Ceylon were called Sinhala in spite of many of them non-Sinhala speaking.

This tradition continued even up to
15th century A.D. Robert Knox time and long after. A separate essay is necessary
on how this situation arose. Following are some points of interest!

2. Galle trilingual slab dates back
to 8th Century A.D. It is in Chinese, Persian and Tamil. Sinhala was not
developed in written form at that time hence its absence. It refers to China’s
gold offerings to Thevanag Nayaner, God of Devinuwara.

3. Arab settlers came to Ceylon
about 7th century A.D. Their descendants are now called Muslims and Moors. They
learned Tamil because that would have been the language in use.

4. Examination of Sigiri Epigraphy
reveals the scripts in many instances are of Tamil Malayalam and Sinhala, some
in mixed form.

5. Royal edicts of Vijayabahu (A.D.
1056-1111) were in Sinhala and Tamil.

6. Kandyan Convention was signed in
1815. Examination of the scripts of the signature of Kandyan chiefs reveal a
mixture of Malayalam, Sinhala and Tamil.

7. It was held that learning and
understanding of Buddhist Pali scriptures were made easier if one had a sound
knowledge of Tamil and Sanskrit.

All these contribute to the
conclusion that Sinhalese are as much Dravidians as the Tamils themselves and
Sinhala race and language was still developing upto 10th century A.D.Sri Lankan
Colombo